For a Couple of Adult Learners, MCC is a Family Affair

For the Jodars, Middlesex Community College is a family affair. Josep and Brenda Jodar came to Middlesex as adult learners at separate times in their lives. They loved their experiences and are grateful for their education. And now, their daughter Michele Stein is MCC’s Chair of the Computing and Engineering Technology Department.

Mrs. Jodar attended Middlesex first. She was a first-generation student – and a mother – who was looking for convenience in her education and to set an example for her daughter.

“I liked it here a lot,” she said. “I found that you could go to the professors and talk to them. You could explain, ‘I need help with this’ and it was affordable and close to home.”

A self-starter, Mrs. Jodar believed in advocating for herself, including going to Salem State to ask what classes she would need to take at Middlesex in order to attend MCC for three years and only have to attend a four-year school – which was farther away – for one year. She went back to her advisor at MCC and made it work.

“I love Middlesex,” she said. “I didn’t feel like a face in the crowd.”

Mr. Jodar worked on a cruise ship and had a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Spain – he’s originally from Barcelona – but it wasn’t what he wanted to do for the rest of his career. The Jodars moved from Miami to Massachusetts and Mr. Jodar continued working in the hospitality industry in a hotel. Motivated by his wife, he decided to pursue a degree in business.

While working full-time, Mr. Jodar took his five courses on weekends and in the evening.

“If you try it and it starts to work out for you, there’s the motivation,” he said. “I worked in the same place for 40 years and even now, there are young people who come from different countries and I always tell them to go to school, take courses.”

Mr. Jodar attended his graduation ceremony in 1994, but had one class left before he could accept his diploma. He finished in 1998 with an astronomy class and gained a new passion. Even now he pulls out his telescope in their home to pinpoint where planets are at certain times of the year.

He was in the astronomy class when his daughter walked in on a tour of the college with her high school. Both found this to be funny at the time, but it has a little more meaning now.

“The circle,” Mrs. Jodar said. “We started here and now she’s teaching.”

They are proud of what their daughter does as a professor and how she influences her students.

“Michele took students to a bridge that was being built as a field trip,” Mr. Jodar said. “The engineer on-site came to give them the hard hats and called her ‘Professor Stein.’ He’d been a student of hers and she could say to her students, ‘if you stick with it, see?”

The Jodars know firsthand how MCC’s professors can leave a lasting impression on students. Dr. David Kalivas – who recently retired from the college after 40 years – was one of the professors they both had who inspired them.

“The professors are amazing,” Mrs. Jodar said. “Professor Kalivas, I’ll never forget. There are a few professors we both took together, at different times. I told Josep which professors I really liked and he was able to take a few of the same classes.”

“The professors were very informative,” Mr. Jodar said. “I was already in the business and I learned a lot of things.”

As Mr. Jodar continued on with his career at the hotel, one piece of advice a professor said stood out to him and has shaped the way he approaches business: “You’re not really selling the project, you’re solving someone’s problem.”

Mrs. Jodar went on to get a bachelor’s degree from Salem State and a master’s from Suffolk University.

“Middlesex was the foundation – and I went all the way up to Suffolk ­– became an Executive Director,” she said. “It’s up to you about what you want to do. If you have a good foundation like what you get here, you can do anything.”

While Mrs. Jodar attended classes in Burlington and the VA, MCC’s Lowell campus was open when Mr. Jodar arrived. Mrs. Jodar remembers a field trip to Walden Pond and Mr. Jodar reminisces about being published Voices, the college’s publication at the time. Both were inspired when Elie Wiesel, author of “Night” spoke at the college.

They are amazed at how far along MCC has come, and how many academic and social opportunities there are available for students now – even though many of those activities have moved online due to the pandemic.

“I think anyone who comes here,” Mrs. Jodar said. “If they set their minds, they can do it.”

MCC is celebrating its 50th year starting in September 2020. If you have ever taken a class at Middlesex, you are an alumni! To join us in celebrating – and to share your story – contact Amy Lee, MCC’s Director of Annual Giving and Alumni Relations, at leea@middlesex.mass.edu or 978-656-3028. Visit www.middlesex.mass.edu/alumni/ to join MCC’s free alumni association.

There is still time to register for MCC’s Mini-mester II courses, an accelerated, eight-week session that starts November 2. For more information and to register for classes, visit www.middlesex.mass.edu/registration/ or call 1-800-818-3434.

Discover your path at Middlesex Community College. As one of the largest, most comprehensive community colleges in Massachusetts, we educate, engage and empower a diverse community of learners. MCC offers more than 80 degree and certificate programs – plus hundreds of noncredit courses – on our campuses in Bedford and Lowell, and online. Middlesex Community College: Student success starts here!